Man Charged $48,000 To Recover His Stuck Jeep XJ

We’ve all been there, heading down the trail and then the mud gets a little to slick or the hole a little to deep and then crap you’re stuck! Most of the time a trail partner can pull you out or you can winch yourself free, assuming you have one, but for one unlucky, possibly misinformed, Massachusetts man that wasn’t the case.

Joel Ramer was wheeling with his girlfriend on a back road in Walpole, MA when he got into a little trouble with his Jeep Cherokee and landed in a deep mud hole on private property. He called Assured Collision to come rescue his XJ from the slick muck, where is took them 12 hours to recover his rig, but when he got the bill he thought his eyes were deceiving him, a total bill for $48,000.

When Ramer went to pickup his Cherokee the news didn’t get any better, he told Fox25 “When I went to pick up the vehicle from Assured Collision, he'd informed me there was some damage done to the vehicle, but didn't get into details…” Joel says Assured Collision totaled his XJ damaging the frame, suspension and driveshaft.

The bill Joel was given itemized the cost of the recovery being charged for everything from the actual tow to “hazmat situation” charge. On top of the $3,300 just for the recovery of the Jeep, the excessive charges include:

Joel hasn’t paid the bill, and Assurance Collision has put a lien on the Jeep Cherokee while authorities are investigating the bill. To complete his awesome day, Ramer was also arrested and cited for trespassing on land owned by a utility company and disturbing the peace.

If you want to avoid a $48,000 bill to tow tour off-road machine home, don’t go wheeling without a buddy!